Cub Scouts go after world record titles

Published October 31, 2012 at 10:57 am

Cub Scouts, from North Branch Pack 411’s Wolf Den 8, didn’t waste any time with their 100-meter run Saturday morning in back of the North Branch Area Education Center. Cub Scouts leader Lisi Nielsen said many of the second-graders ran the distance multiple times that morning. Photos by Jon Tatting

A local Cub Scouts den joined a nationwide effort to break not one but two Guinness World Record titles on Saturday, Oct. 27.

And all they needed were shoes.

Cub Scouts Wolf Den 8, from North Branch Pack 411, attempted the feat with National Geographic Kids magazine in an effort to engage kids in both physical fitness and recycling. In order to break the first record, the magazine invited communities from around the globe to run 100 meters in 24 hours. Setting the second record involved creating the longest chain of shoes.

In North Branch, the second-graders ran their 100-meter stretch at least once — several times for some — beginning at 10 a.m. on the walking path behind the North Branch Area Education Center, site of the former primary school. All Scouts and the entire community were invited to join in the fun, too.

In light of the second world record attempt, Scouts put on a footwear drive, as more than 12,500 shoes had to be donated from across the country. Requested were athletic-style shoes, which, when added to the overall collection, will be tied together to break the record for the longest chain of shoes. Afterward, they will be recycled into athletic surfaces such as basketball courts and running tracks.
Here, Cub Scouts Nathan Fackler, Gabe Nielsen and Tristan Pate show some of the shoes that were donated in North Branch Saturday morning.

“Your local Cub Scouts work hard to learn about how they can improve their local communities and the world around them,” said Barbara Boelk of Cub Scouts Wolf Den 8,” and this is a great way to be part of the action.”

For more information on these events or to support the Cub Scouts in other ways, call 651-277-0291.